Strand store device



March F L. R

STRAND STORE DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2, 1954 INVENTOR. fim/m L. DU/Pl? March 20, 1956 F. L. DURR STRAND STORE DEVICE Filed July 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. BY FEM/K Z. .Dum

hw mw/h 2,738,870 7 STRAND s'ronn DEVICE Frank L. Durr, New York, N. Y. Application July 2, 1954, Serial No. 441,092

4 Claims. (Cl'. 203-183 This invention relates to a rotating strand storage and advancing device adapted to take upv a strand at one end, impress a spiral shape thereto, advance the coils of the spiral to the other end and deliver the strand at the other end. t

Many rotating strand or thread store devices are known in which the thread or strand is fed thereabout at one end thereof, isformed into a spiral on the outside of the device. and is taken off at the opposite end. Such store devices are generally suitable for only very supple or flexible material such as fibrous threads. The store device of the. present invention is especially suitable for stifrer and larger strands such as metal wires, plastic rods and strips, plastic strips containing embedded wires and, in general, linear essentially one-dimensional bodies which are flexible and which, when bent, tend to return to their original shape. The storetdevice of the invention is also suitable for storing flexible thread material when the said store device is driven at such a speed as to impart a centrifugal force to the air within the same which is sufficient to cause the thread in spiral form to tend to expand to form a larger spiral.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a rotatable strand advancing and store device adapted to impress a spiral form onto relatively straight, stifi ma- 'terial such as Wire, at one end, to continuously store a long length of such wire in spiral form and to continuously release the longest stored portion of said wire or similar material at the other end, thereof.

Among other objects of the invention is to provide a rotatable strand advancing and store device adapted to store and advance the strand on the inside thereof.

These objects and others ancillary thereto are accomplished by providing a hollow store device comprising acage having at least twosets of interfitting strandcontacting bars on the inside thereof. The two sets of strand contacting bars are eccentric with respect to each other, are rotatable in planes which are at an angle to each other and are formed of separate cages of substantially the same internal diameter. Since the two sets of strand contacting bars rotate in planes which are at an angle to each other at least one of the sets must rotate in a plane which is at an angle to the plane perpendicular to the general axis'of the store device. Since the sets are equal in diameter and eccentric, a wire or strand forced inside of the store device will ride approximately half the time on one set of strand contacting bars and the other half of the time on the other set of strand contacting bars. During the time the strand is riding on at least one set of strand contacting bars which rotates in a plane at an angle to the plane perpendicular to the general axis of the. device, the strand is being fed axially of the store device.

The two or more sets of caged strand-contacting members are rotatably mounted on the outside of the cage, each set being separately mounted. One or more of said sets may be positively rotated. If desired, the cage may Un d-Sta es PatfitO" cent bars of the same set.

2,738,870 Patented Mar, 20, 1956 2 be. rotated by the push of the wire or other material stored on or about to be stored on the device.

While the wire or other strand is'stored on the device, the said wire or strand may be chemically or physically treated. For example, wire may be pickled, electroplated, annealed, etc. Thread may be dried, twisted, chemically treated with liquid sprays, etc. Plastic rods and strips, if freshlyextruded, may be curved or chemically treated. The cage, for example, maybe mounted in tanks containing treatment liquids.

The invention both as to its organization and its method of operation together with additional objects and 'advantages thereof will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a longitudinal cross sectional view of one form of the store device of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the device of Fig. l. v Fig. 2a is a detail view of apart of the device of Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a side view of another type of such store device. I

Fig. 4 is a view of a cell for dry spinning synthetic threads employing a device made according to the invention.

Fig. 5 is a view on a smaller scale of an apparatus illustrating how store devices such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be employed in wire treating processes.

In ordinary thread-store devices employing two interfitting sets of thread supporting bars in which the thread is wound about or on the outside of the device, each set will contain 8-12 or more of said thread supporting bars so that the thread does not sag between two' adja- However, where stifi material such as wire is being wound on the inside of a cage containing two sets of supporting members, made according to the present invention fewer bars may be employed and Figs. 1 and 2 show a store device 9 according to the invention in which each set has only 6 bars. The first rotating member 10 comprises two rim or hoop members 11 and 11'. Spokes 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 extend part way in from the rims 11 and 11' toward the axis or center of the rim. Pivotally held on the two ends of each pair of spokes 13-18, 1318, is a strand contacting and guiding rod 30-35. v

Similar rim members 20 and 20 contain spokes 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 on corresponding pairs of which the rods 36-41 are pivotally attached I When assembled as described the separate series of strand contacting members 10, 10' and 20, 20' may be made to assume any desired degree of eccentricity or angle with respect to each other, both ofthese values being determined by the mounting pulleys 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, etc. Each rim 11, 11', 20 or 20' is fixed in its rotating movement by at least 3 pulleys such as the pulleys 42, 43, 44 of Fig. 2. These pulleys are not visible in Fig. 1, some being omitted for the sake of simplicity. Obviously the three pulleys which guide the rims 11 and 11' must be positioned to cause said rims 11 and 11' to rotate in parallel planes and the same holds true for the pulleys which fixed the planes of rotation of rims 20 and 20.

As shown in Fig. 2, the wire 9 which is formed into a helix on the inside of the cage does not assume the form of a circular spiral but instead the Wire approximates the form of an ellipse. The degree of eccentricity of the two cages determines the difference between the major and minor axis of the elliptical shape. If the elliptical shape of the spiral is undesirable, three or four sets of rods can be employed so that the wire travels on each set only one third or one fourth of the time.

When two or more rims 10, or 20, per set of rods 30.- q a e mp y th sp or 23 -28 must be mounted so as to permit pivotal movement thereof with respect to the rods. As shown in Fig. 2a the rod 36 is attached to spoke 23 by means of the pin 48.

Where only one rim is employed the set of strand contacting rods are rigidly attached to the rim as shown in Fig. 3. In this figure rims and are shown. Guide rods 51, 52, 53, 5,4 and 55 are attached to the half side of rim 50 which shows in this figure. Similarly rods 61, 62 63, 64, 65 and 66 are attached to rim 60. The total number of rods on each rim being 11. Rims 50 and associated rods 50-55, etc;, may be formed in one piece as by molding. The rims 50 and 60 are mounted in 3 or more outside supporting pulleys not shown similarly to pulleys 42, 43, 44 and 45, 46, 47 of Fig. 2.

Another way of driving the device is shown in Fig. 3. Since the guide pulleys fix the plane of rotation of the two rims and their fixed set of rods, the belt 67 extending around the store device and the pulley 68 driven by shaft 69 may be employed as the means for driving the device of Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 illustrates the method of employing a store device similar to that shown in Fig. 3 in the dry spinning of artificial silk. The store device 50, 60, etc. is mounted on pulleys 56, 57, 58, 59, etc. (at least one other pulley being required for each rim 50 and 69) in an expanded portion 75 of the dry spinning cell 70. The cell 70 has a spinneret 71 at the top thereof adapted to extrude a number of filaments 72. The filaments 72 are collected by guide 73 from which the thread passes to store device. The air is exhausted from expanded portion 75 through ports 76, 77. The store device 50, 60 is driven at high enough speed to create a substantial amount of centrifugal movement of the gas and vapor within the cell. The store device may be driven by positively rotating one or more of pulleys 56-58. From the store device, thread 72 passes to another thread guide 78 and thence is guided out of the cell 70 and wound by means not shown. In this way an extended run of thread in a relatively short drying cell 70 may be obtained.

A method of employing the apparatus for the treatment of wire or similar material is shown in Fig. 5. Wire 9, is positively fed by a pair of rollers 81 (only 1 shown) toward the inside of the first store device 81 where it bears against one set of the two sets of guide rods of device 81. The wire is formed into an elliptical spiral by said store device and fed to the opposite end. The store device 81 is situated in a suitable treating vat 82 containing a fluid bath for treating for the wire 9.

The bath may contain a pickling liquid, a coating liquid, a descaling liquid, an oxidizing solution, etc. When the wire 9 reaches the end of store device 81, it is passed out in the form of a large loop and positively fed by another pair of rollers 84 (only one shown) to the second store device 86 located in a vat 87 wherein it may be treated with another fluid.

Where the wire or other stiff material is not too stiff or does not have. too high a temper the store devices can be relied on to form the wire to spiral shape. If desired, however, a curving device can be added on one side of the forwarding rollers 80.

The features and principles underlying the invention described above in connection with specific exemplifications will suggest to those skilled in the art many other modifications thereof. It is accordingly desired that the appended claims shall not be limited to any specific feature or details thereof.

I claim:

1. In a cage device for taking on strand material at one end, impressing the form of a helix on said strand material and advancing the helix to the opposite end thereof, a first and a second set of strand supporting rods, at least one rim extending about the strand supporting rods of the first set, at least one rim extending about the strand supporting rods of the second set, a plurality of means extending inwardly form each of said rims connecting the strand supporting rods to their respective rims, a set of rotatable means spaced around the rim of said first set of strand supporting rods to rotatably support said rim in a particular plane, a similar set of rotatable means adapted to rotatably support the rim of the second set to rotate in the same general direction as the rim of the first set but in a plane which is at an angle with respect to the plane of rotation of the rim of the first set.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1 in which each set of strand supporting rods has one rim and in which the said supporting rods are fixed to the means extending inwardly from said rim.

3. The device as set forth in claim 1 in which the first set of rods has at least two rims and in which the rods are pivotally attached to the means extending inwardly from said two rims of the first set.

4. The device as set forth in claim 1 comprising a belt extending around said entire cage device and means to rotate said device through said belt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

